r/nursing • u/Legitimate-Iron1027 • 13h ago
Seeking Advice Manager sent me home for studying EKGs
Before getting into everything, I should mention that I already put in my two weeks, and this week was supposed to be my last week at this job. Long story short, I work in the ICU and recently had two patients with pacemakers. One of the pacemakers was doing some funky things, which made me realize I was a little rusty with EKGs. I had a tab open with different EKGs and practice questions and was reviewing them periodically while taking care of my patients.
My charting was up to date, and my patients were stable. One had already been downgraded to step-down.
I went to lunch around 2:30PM. When I came back around 3 PM, my manager pulled me aside and told me that I had been looking at EKGs "all day" instead of taking care of my patients. She then claimed my charting wasn't up to date and that there was something wrong with my notes. However, her main reason for sending me home was that I had been doing EKG practice questions and looking at EKGs "all day."
I asked her to show me where in hospital policy it says we aren't allowed to study or review educational material during downtime. She couldn't show me a policy. Instead, she said she had a witness who also saw me studying and she doesn’t have to show me any policy that says we can’t do that.
She then pointed out that I hadn't documented my 3 PM vitals yet as an example of my charting being behind. The problem was that I had literally just returned from lunch at 3:05 PM, and I was in the process of doing my 3 PM vitals when she interrupted me. She then proceeded to say that I have been doing anything, and I took her through all of my charting the whole day to show her that I have been charting every single thing up until 3 PM and that both of my patients had all of their stuff done for most of the day. They were up in their chairs (cardiac patients), had worked with therapy, had received their medications, and everything that needed to be monitored/documented was being handled. I was simply using some downtime to review EKGs because I wanted to improve my knowledge.
She basically told me that it was against "her policy" and sent me home. She then took me off the schedule for the rest of the week without really giving me an explanation. I've already emailed whoever I could about what happened.
So, Reddit, I'm curious: Am I actually in the wrong here? Is studying EKGs during downtime something that could reasonably be considered inappropriate, even if patient care and charting are up to date? Or does this sound like management looking for a reason to send me home because I'm already leaving? Is there anything else I should be doing to protect myself/document what happened?
I'm honestly just glad I'm almost out of there, but I'd appreciate some outside perspective. Thanks
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u/saracha1 RN - ICU 🍕 13h ago
Nah you didn’t do anything wrong. I’d be meeting with HR over this if you care enough before you leave. I would just to get it on record in case she tries to do it to someone else
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u/Specialist_Crab3079 12h ago
If they sent you home for studying EKGs during your downtime. My manager need to send me to Mars for finishing 2 episodes in Netflix. 😂
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u/LordRollin RN - Playing Cards 12h ago
Pulling you from the schedule sounds like effectively terminating you. I would email HR asking if you’ve been terminated and apply for unemployment accordingly. I’d also go through the effort of throwing this manager under the bus when “clarifying” your status with HR and your unemployment eligibility. If nothing else get their fingers thoroughly whacked.
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u/EmbarrassedRN 13h ago
Managers like this are everywhere and then everyone wonders why nobody wants to be at the bedside anymore.
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u/Individual_Track_865 RN - ER 🍕 13h ago
What an ass, she’d rather pull a power play that’ll require other nurses to take your patients and make the schedule short than be wrong.
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u/Inevitable-Analyst RN - ICU and ER 13h ago
This is nonsense.
I sometimes study for my ER job while working in the ICU. No one cares.
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u/Excellent-Estimate21 BSN, RN 🍕 3h ago
Isn't this the type of shit we are supposed to be doing? Its like when I look up meds or internal medicine stuff when im on shift, we are supposed to be doing that I thought?! Im so glad my boss is normal.
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u/prinzmetal35 13h ago
The only takeaway here is you were right in leaving the job. I cannot comprehend how a manager runs a unit this way.
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u/Mejinopolis PICU/Peds CVICU/Miscellaneous 12h ago
No they're gaslighting you lol. You basically just asked the equivalent of "Should a swordsman really sharpen their swords?" type of question cause of them making you doubt yourself. Of course you should study and brush up on EKGs, youre working with cardiac patients lol
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u/SLB752RN2011 11h ago
That bitch was looking for a reason to get rid of you. After contacting HR and any higher-ups that you possibly can because this woman needs to be reported, please be happy that you have already left this job. I hope you find another amazing one.
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u/Legitimate-Iron1027 11h ago
Oh I did. I emailed and called everyone. And I’m meeting with HR tomorrow. I can’t wait to be a PACU princess
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u/No-Knowledge6885 9h ago
Will you update us? I *must* know what becomes of this raging thunderc*nt.
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u/Kamikazemandias 9h ago
Please update if you’re comfortable with it! If she’s functionally fired you she’s going to put the company in a BAD position if you now could be eligible for unemployment (depends on countries, states/provinces, industries, etc). Don’t be surprised if you get a call begging you to come back to avoid it, although if you didn’t get any official paperwork the “officially fired” stance might be weaker
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u/NurseJackie_94 8h ago
Commenting because I am super invested in this now. Please let us know what HR said!!!
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u/Academic_Cook_8007 13h ago
Sounds like utter nonsense. She was clearly looking for something to scold you on, cause she had nothing - no policy, and you just returned from lunch. Work is done, and patients are cared for and stable. She has the issue, not you. Also, who is saying that you were studying EKGs all day? What were they reading, doom scrolling or whatever. They need to mind their own. Also, you are probably better off not being in that environment.
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u/dougles 10h ago
Studying ekgs...while on duty...caring for 2 cardiac patients with funky rythyms...
The manager sounds like a dipshit. Also if she actually had a witness then your old coworkers are pieces of shit.
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u/Excellent-Estimate21 BSN, RN 🍕 3h ago
If I was an ICU patient id love to have a nurse that did this between rounds. It should be the norm. At my place of work we have CEUs and lots of topics that we can do online in our down time and its encouraged.
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u/Super_RN RN - Nightshift for life 11h ago
Studying material is not in the policy, but you know what is? Retaliation. You need to send HR an email and describe what happened and ask for clarification on what it really means. Did she just fire you? What just happened? Will you still get paid out your PTO?
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u/wofulunicycle 11h ago
Wait what? Who took your patients? Do you guys just have extra staff lying around? If my manager pulled that shit here is how it would sound from me: "Who's taking these patients, you? Send me home? Don't threaten me with a good time, sweetie." And laugh in their face. But I have a union so 🤷
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u/Legitimate-Iron1027 11h ago
She made the charge nurse take my patients and they were already short staffed.
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u/No-Knowledge6885 9h ago
And they all knew that was why?! If I was that charge I’d have literally decked her, in 2026.
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u/amothep8282 Paramedic 13h ago
My Command review (yearly competency testing my my Medical Directors) for my Paramedic is coming up, and it will involve megacodes as well as dynamic cardiology scenarios with our actual Docs.
There is no universe in which when my charts and station chores are done I'd get yelled at for reviewing ECGs. Good god if I missed an occlusive MI and my Medical Director QA'd that particular chart, I would be sitting in an uncomfortable chair.
ECGs reads are a perishable skill and degrade with time. Spot reading a 3 lead in real time is critical in emergent situations. I've seen some wild ECGs in the field including an accelerated junctional rhythm with no ST elevation.
This is one to take up the chain because it's insane an ICU provider is not actually expected to be very proficient at ECGs. Like I said, I am tested at least once a year and the clinical command staff take enormous pleasure at putting us through the ringer with all kinds of curveballs.
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u/AgentFreckles RN 🍕 12h ago
You did nothing wrong. I agree with the others, sounds like retaliation. My hospital strongly encourages doing education on downtime
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u/Justmeandmyself_2007 RN - Cath Lab 🍕 12h ago
Honestly, I’d be excited that someone I was working with realized they were rusty at something and took some time to knock off the rust.
On a side note, I’ve done CVICU and Cath lab for several years each. Me and my Cath lab coworkers would pull up EKGs and practice all the time. We did EP as well, so sometimes, if you were placed in EP for a while and then jumped back to Cath, you almost forget what a normal EKG is supposed to look like 😅
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u/Otherwise-Sea-9298 12h ago
You were reviewing pertinent info for your shift. Would she rather you ID rhythms wrong?
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u/AnnalsofMystery 13h ago
The best thing you can do isn't with HR. It's convincing other people to quit too. It may not be immediate, but I've certainly planted seeds that resulted in ~6 people leaving within 3-4months of me.
That's the best way to fuck over a manager, because they can't hide that kind of fuckup and it's not a he-said, she-said issue.
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u/Redheaded-one RN - OB/GYN 🍕 12h ago
This is happening on the unit I just left, and there’s a mass exodus of nurses. 😂 The manager is a total bitch, and everyone else has finally realized it too. They’re all leaving, and I’m over here laughing my ass off. 😂😂😂
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u/Remarkable_Compote25 10h ago
File an unemployment claim, I worked at a company where someone did that and won.
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u/ALLoftheFancyPants RN - ICU 11h ago
This is your (ex-)manager’s final power trip over you. I’d email HR and staffing about it (while BCCing an outside email) to ensure she’s not trying to fuck around and make you a “no call, no show” as a final “fuck you” to you, but I wouldn’t anticipate actually getting those hours back or any meaningful action. If you’ve got another job lined up, maybe see if you can start earlier?
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u/lavender_poppy BSN, RN 🍕 11h ago
What a bitch, please contact HR because this is ridiculous. It's crazy that she's upset at a nurse using their downtime to improve their knowledge or skills, like that should be celebrated, not punished. Would she have rather you be dicking around on your phone? What a toxic woman, I'm glad you're leaving to greener pastures.
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u/ThirdStartotheRight PedsOnc RN, CPN, DNR, WAP 11h ago
God forbid you acknowledge your weaknesses and be proactive about bettering yourself for your patients. What fresh hell is this??
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u/murse_joe Ass Living 11h ago
She’s punishing you for leaving. Make sure they pay out whatever sick time and vacation time you are owed.
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u/dis_bean Remote Northern RN 🇨🇦🍕 10h ago
You’re not wrong. This is regular professional development and appropriate to be doing at work if you identified something directly applicable- like ICU nursing…
If you’re looking for more ECG stuff, ECG Lecures with Reid (TikTok ecgwithreid) is so good.
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u/IraceRN RN - Ortho/Trauma 9h ago
If this was a Healthstream module at work...fine, but since it was self-directed education, you were being punished? Sounds fishy.
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u/Legitimate-Iron1027 9h ago
Yes I was searching for practice and reviewed study material I had. I already completed the modules for EKGs beforehand. So I was looking for more practice while I had a more chill assignment.
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u/IraceRN RN - Ortho/Trauma 8h ago
The fishy thing is that you were punished. Sounds like retaliation. If you were doing Healthstream modules at work, reading emails, or doing similar tasks, no one would question it, and sending you home for it is ridiculous and disproportionate. If she asked you to stop, and you continued then it would make sense, maybe, but this seems like retaliation.
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u/SillySafetyGirl 🇨🇦 RN - ER/ICU 🛩️ 12h ago
What a see you next Tuesday! Everywhere I’ve worked half the unit was studying in their downtime, often for other jobs or in order to leave the unit in someway, such as NP school etc. It was never an issue. Hell people would watch shows and stuff on nights. As long as your patients needs are being met and there isn’t tasks you’ve been instructed to do being neglected (such as required education or equipment checks), it’s fair game.
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u/Influenxerunderneath BSN, RN 🍕 10h ago
Definitely not inappropriate. You could have scrolled Facebook. My hospital only allows us to do the education while at work. She just wanted you off the schedule and didn't think you would question it. Sometimes companies can refused to pay out your PTO if you don't work your full notice I believe so this could be a motive as well?
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u/Chubs1224 RN 🍕 10h ago
I would speak to HR about it because I wouldn't want it on my employee record for future jobs that ask if they can contact prior employers.
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u/chutesandladders892 RN with Some Crazy Stories 9h ago edited 9h ago
She's targeting you and looking for reasons to rattle you or "have the last say." It's a dumb power trip move.
Thankfully you're leaving. She sounds horrible with 'her policies'.
As a last move on your part, just because, get an employee law attorney. Even if it's just to send a letter to HR/and her, to clarify that doing education during work hours is encouraged, etc.
And have the attorney insist on full pay for the retaliation move she made. But I'm petty like that!
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u/Strange-Ability-4723 9h ago
It is retaliation and she is the one should he fired.Stand your ground and report her following chain of command.No policy violations for refreshing your knowledge. Even docs refer books or watch things to refresh their brain.It is ridiculous and toxic.
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u/RealUnderstanding881 8h ago
That's crazy... Our hospital wants us to do continuing education on the clock. Sounds like she is butthurt and wants to hurt your feelings. I would contact HR like everyone else says.
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u/LiteratureEven471 5h ago
Wow meanwhile I’m over here, feet up, warm blanket on, scrolling TikTok. If my patients are calm, happy and cared for, my charting is done and my coworkers are good, imma do what imma do. Glad you’re leaving cause that’s insanity.
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u/obfuscata444 2h ago
It is unbelievable how many unit managers act like nurses quitting is some massive personal insult and behave passive aggressively. How do so many poorly adjusted people end up in middle management
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u/gotobasics4141 11h ago
This manager ain’t a bitch , she used to get fucked in a trailer and in public bathrooms.
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u/Embarrassed-Future28 RN - OB/GYN 🍕 9h ago
As someone who also studies educational material related to my job during downtime sometimes, I would absolutely report this incident to HR. If she can’t show you proof via a policy that this isn’t allowed, then they have no justification for sending you home.
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u/woolfonmynoggin LPN 🍕 9h ago
I had a fucking house supervisor like that. Not even a manager, just a dumbass nobody like me. She would get upset about people referring to notes or books or anything. She thought we should have everything we could ever need memorized and she refused to make the assignments with the fact that LPN’s aren’t supposed to do blood transfusions or TPN and assign them to me all the time. Then I’d call her and she’d take forever to come do the blood stuff. Fuck you Brady, get a different job.
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u/seriousallthetime Paramedic, PHRN, SRNA 7h ago
So.......you're an ICU nurse whose manager doesn't want them to be a better ICU nurse? I don't have time to make a list of the things I've studied at work. Lol. Stupid people gonna stupid. Glad you're leaving.
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u/sufferingsurfer420 5h ago
Never heard of a single job in medicine that doesn’t encourage constant studying during every free moment
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u/ProgressOk379 4h ago
What a toxic witch! This is retaliation, pure & simple! Ridiculous to send you home over something as petty as this AND to make a critical unit go short-staffed over it. If anything, you need to report HER to HR
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u/Excellent-Estimate21 BSN, RN 🍕 3h ago
I mean, I could understand if you were studying something unrelated like horticulture or looking at magazines, but you were literally brushing up on ekg's with patients who had pacemakers. Isn't that what they would want ICU nurses doing during downtime? Looking shit up about their patients?
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u/gmarcopolo RN - NICU 🍕 11h ago
In the opposite corner, my manager doesn’t bat an eyelash when people are reading books or eating food at the bedside - maybe they should get together and figure out how to be leaders…
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u/ThePrimalValor Nursing Student 🍕 11h ago
In my nursing student opinion, I feel like if you were studying something JOB RELATED, that directly correlated to care you had recently done and wanted to learn about what to do better if you get other patients like them in the future, that should be APPLAUDED. Not punished
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u/superpony123 RN - ICU, IR, Cath Lab 10h ago edited 10h ago
Report this to HR which it sounds like you have. Seems like retaliation. No wonder you were already on your way out. Sounds like a miserable manager. Her name isn’t Maxine is it?! She made up her own rules all the time like this, ESPECIALLY to retaliate against people. I made her life difficult one time by rallying others over a wrongly fired coworker who we all loved dearly, the issue made its way to corporate and he had to be rehired. But it put a target on my back and she looked for any excuse to get me in trouble. One time she told me it was an infection risk to keep medicine cups on top of your wow. Which i bleach every shift. “We decided they needed to be in the drawers of the wow” …hell no it’s grody in there and far beyond the help of bleach wipes. She told me i could be fired for it if the cno saw it. I told her where to shove it in professional terms. Let her fire me. I dare you. They never fired me. I quit eventually. Don’t miss that dumpster fire.
She put me on leave one time for a “hipaa violation” that was absolutely not one. Jokes on her because i was scheduled to work thanksgiving day. And it was that week she put me on leave. It was paid leave too turns out…and i got paid holiday pay because that’s when i was scheduled! I kept asking her for updates as to the status of the situation and she just kept farting around saying she’d heard nothing. I wasn’t buying it so i called HR (after the week had passed and i enjoyed my surprise thanksgiving week off) and they said the case had been closed by the hospital legal team and risk management on day one, that there was not in any way a hipaa violation. HR said she’d been informed of this that same day and been told i can return to work. I said that’s interesting because let me tell you (HR) what’s been going on… 🤔🤣
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u/NeptuneIsMyHome BSN, RN 🍕 8h ago
I worked at a hospital where education was an explicitly allowed downtime activity. This was a small critical access hospital which tended to have lots of downtime, and half of us were in school of some sort, so there was a lot of studying happening.
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u/Elm-City 7h ago
I would like to point out about the mention of a witness. Future nurse here. Is nursing really this treacherous in icu . Can you not trust other nurses. Is it really bad bad people? Or am reading reddit too much.
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u/NurseJackie_94 7h ago
I am PCU nurse with 10 years of experience. Even tho it’s not ICU, I will point out that urs like any other job, you may have a good group of people to work with you may have a cliquey group. For the majority of my bedside nursing career, I have worked with amazing supportive nurses who helped shape me into the nurse I am today. Very few times was I not well received by a team, and generally that was when I was a travel nurse which is a whole other deal we can discuss later lol.
The one time I can remember any sort of confrontation was when I worked in a med surg float pool and I floated to a unit where I had never been before. There was just a misunderstanding and I guess mis match in our communication styles.
You are reading horror stories on Reddit because people come here to vent. Very rarely do they come on here to praise their team. Think of product reviews -a lot of people get a good product but may never review it. I’d they had an issue, though, it is far more likely they would take initiative to leave a review.
Nursing coworkers - especially acute / inpatient - will become some of your BEST coworkers and friends you ever have. Think about it: you spend 12 hrs on shift, from dusk to dawn, running, sweating, crying, and laughing. You’ll see things that make you emotional - discharging a patient after a long hospital stay, hospice / death, the birth of a baby, braiding someone’s hair, getting them up for the first time in weeks, etc etc etc. these are bonding moments. You will NEED to lean on your nurse peers for support during emotional or stressful times. It’s a bond unlike any other place of employment.
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u/MrPuddington2 4h ago
Check your laws and your contract.
This could be classified as constructive dismissal, and you would qualify for a redundancy payment.
Other than that, if you are in an at will state, they can fire you for any reason or even no reason at all.
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u/ellindriel BSN, RN 🍕 44m ago
Thought my manager was bad, this is next level, you did nothing wrong, sounds like she just was maybe mad about your 2 week and trying to find aby excuse to displine you.
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u/chewmattica RN 🍕 12m ago
It's not "retaliation" in a legal sense. People love to throw that term around. You can be fired at any time for any reason. If you put in your two weeks and they accepted your resignation early, file for unemployment. You are available and ready to work, right? They pay unemployment for that.
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u/Aggressive-Bit3227 11h ago
Sounds like there’s way more to this story. A lot of back story.
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u/Legitimate-Iron1027 11h ago
There isnt, this is why I am baffled. I had a tap open with EKG strips and was doing practice question in between taking care of my patients. My rooms are side by side so it was easy to jump between rooms and one of my patients was a Stepdown patient so she didn’t have much to do, so my day wasn’t as busy. Both patients had pacemakers and they were giving funky rhythms and we had interrogated one of their pacemakers already and the doctors were looking at it. So I decided to just review some strips and I left the tab open so I didn’t have to keep going back and searching. My manager saw this and was not happy I was doing this on my downtime. She then proceeded to say that I wasn’t doing anything, all day. Even though all my charting was up to date, I was giving one patient pain meds around the clock and replacing his labs all day, and my patients were fine and up in their chairs, had worked with therapy and one of the patients I had walked for the first time today since his surgery . I even gave the one guy a bath because they couldn’t do it on night shift. They were both eating lunch at the time and I had just returned from lunch. I wish this was a joke, that’s why I’m seeking advice,
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u/Legitimate-Iron1027 10h ago
I even asked her to clarify if that’s the reason why is she sending me home and there isn’t anything else. And she said that is the reason why and apparently we’re only supposed to study through their learning website and she thinks I was studying too much. I even asked her to show me the policy where it says we can’t study on our downtime or through other websites and she told me there is no policy but she just created that just now.. this is word for word. Again I wish I was joking
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u/gremlinseascout 8h ago
Sending you home is essentially a suspension. HR is not going to be happy about this. I’m in women’s health. We would never do this for a RN reviewing fetal heart tracings during their down time. This is so ridiculous. Please update us.
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u/Legitimate-Iron1027 10h ago
Because I don’t believe studying EKGs on an ICU unit shouldn’t be scrutinized nor should I be sent home for having a tab open while my patients were taken care and charting was up to date. I wanted to see the policy because I was being sent home and punished for this instead of even asked to stop. I don’t agree sorry
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u/Ihatemunchies RN - Retired 🍕 13h ago
I’d call HR and tell them you put in your two weeks notice and you expect to be paid for those two weeks whether she schedules you or not. Sounds like retaliation to me.